Rituals of Connection

Holy Day rituals require travel
or hospitality—
receiving and giving:
advice, potatoes, tidbits of news.

When we gather
around a shared fire,
we let our exhales
mingle between us.
We conjure a blended aroma,
our bodies conversing.

When we gather
around a wooden table,
we let our roots tap into
the same wellspring.
It brings us shoulder to shoulder;
we literally become a “throng.”

Whether by kin or by choice,
the familiar feeds us.
We ladle the warm stew
of our belonging.
We break bread, each of us
partaking in the bond
between us.

We each bring a flavor
a spice, an essence
unique to us,
to add to the feast
of connection.

Together, we exchange the gifts
of solitude for together-ness.

Made whole again, we part,
putting on the heavy wool coat
of our full-body hugs.
Like scarves we throw our arms
around the neck of another.

We create this
wholey-ness
by traveling or by
opening the door.
By tending the fire or
by arriving cold
from the journey,
stomachs empty
ready for the ritual
of giving and receiving,
of welcoming
and being welcomed.
Some of us
shopping and chopping.
Some of us
finding our way home
in the dark.

© constance mears

art: Kim R-K for Unsplash